Chelsea have had a busy September with seven matches across 21 days but it ended up being a positive one for the Blues on the whole.

Antonio Conte's men won five of their games during the month, including that superb Champions League victory at Atletico Madrid, and also drew with Arsenal. However, the shine was taken off it somewhat with the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City and Alvaro Morata's injury.

The Spaniard has subsequently withdrawn from international duty to return to the Blues and receive treatment on his injury, but how long will he be out for now?

Key Events

I wouldn't say that at all

Crisis is a very strong word and to be honest I wouldn’t say that is the issue at all. Chelsea have won both their Champions League fixtures, including at Atletico, while remain six points off the top of the Premier League and it is only October. The weekend’s loss may well have exposed some frailties in the Chelsea squad, but there isn’t a crisis and a good January window could fix that.

As for tactical inflexibility, I would say Conte is one of the more flexible in the league. He may stay with a rigid three at the back and wing-backs, but he will move around his front men to get the right system. He got it wrong against City, but they will bounce back against Palace.

Antonio Conte during the Manchester City defeat (Photo by Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images)

15:40

What about the squad depth

15:01

History says that Chelsea don't stick with managers too long

Conte has often spoken about his want to stay at Chelsea for a long time, but the reality and what has been said can be somewhat different.

Chelsea do not have a great record of keeping their managers for a particular period of time, and the fact that he has won the Premier League may not count for too much if Abramovich wants rid.

Conte signed a new deal in the summer, but not an extension on his contract, so there is a sign there that the future may not be a long one for Conte.

However, don’t expect the Blues boss to just get up and walk out straight away, although he might want to see a bit more backing in January.

Conte's future

A few Chelsea fans have been worried about whether Antonio Conte’s future lies with Chelsea

Antonio Conte during the Manchester City defeat (Photo by Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images)

14:42

Juventus stance unlikely to be swayed

The Blues were after the Brazilian left-back in the summer but Juventus would not be budged on selling him after they let Leonardo Bonucci leave for AC Milan. They did not want to get rid of another top defender, and when the transfer market reopens again they could well have the same stance. Chelsea do not have a proper back-up for Marcos Alonso on the left, and the offer is going to have to be high if they want to pry him away from Serie A. He would also be cup-tied if Chelsea were able to get into the knockout stages of the Champions League

Alex Sandro (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

14:36

What about Alex Sandro?

The question has been raised about whether or not Alex Sandro could be another target for Chelsea his January

(Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

14:32

Man City still the favourites

However much Chelsea might be in for the Arsenal star, it’s very much Manchester City who will be winning that race to sign him in January. The Chilean was so close to joining them in the last transfer market, but the Gunners’ inability to land Thomas Lemar prevented the deal from going ahead.

This is the last chance that Arsenal can make some money off Sanchez, with his contract running out in the summer and there being very little chance of him signing a new one.

Chelsea may well see if they can test the waters, but City have the bigger financial clout to give him whatever he wants.

Alexis Sanchez.

14:27

Alexis Sanchez?!

Highly unlikely

There doesn’t seem to be a chance that Abraham will return in January and the chances are that Chelsea might look to dip into the transfer market if it is required. The Blues may need to bring in another striker, depending on whether or not they feel Michy is the right back-up to Morata and the Spaniard can stay fit.

Tammy Abraham

Don on Facebook has asked: “Wouldn’t Chelsea consider bringing back Tammy Abraham from his loan?”

(Image: Alex Morton/Getty Images)

14:13

Chelsea hopeful for earlier return

It looked like bad news when Morata limped off against Manchester City and it seems the news wasn’t that great as Spain announced that it was a Grade II hamstring injury. The usual time for that recovery is anything between 2-8 weeks, and there is a fear he could be out for about a month. However, Chelsea are hoping that he could be back earlier than that and are doing their own tests at the moment. We are likely to know more later on in the week, however Morata was hopeful himself that he would make the return for Crystal Palace on October 14.

14:09

Morata's injury

We kick off with a question on Facebook from Fedelis: When will Morata be back?